A HUDDERSFIELD pub has been named the best in Yorkshire by real ale experts.

A HUDDERSFIELD pub has been named the best in Yorkshire by real ale experts.

The Campaign for Real Ale - Camra - has chosen the Star at Folly Hall as Yorkshire Pub of the Year for 2003.

Licensees Tyrone and Sam Lawton have celebrated their success.

The pub was previously a basic back street boozer until the couple took over several years ago and transformed it into a real ale pub with character.

It is in Camra's Good Beer Guide 2004, which was launched this week.

The Star was chosen after visits by members of Yorkshire Camra branches.

It will now go on to compete for the title of Best National Pub.

Camra described The Star, on Albert Street, as a "characterful pub" which offers a "friendly atmosphere and good conversation, free from jukeboxes or noisy gaming machines".

The guide adds: "An enviable reputation for good beer is due to an ever- changing range of quality guest ales from varied micro-breweries."

Tyrone, a former builder, said: "We are delighted with the awards, which makes it four in a little over two years.

"I think people enjoy the selection of beers we have and their condition, but also the fact they can come and enjoy a quiet drink.

"We have no music, no bandits, no pool table, no alcopops. That may make it a boring pub for some. For others it is a quiet haven."

The beers recommended by Camra at the Star are Eastwood & Sanders Best Bitter and Taylor's Best Bitter and Landlord.

Other pubs and clubs around the Huddersfield area are among the 4,500 pubs in the new Good Beer Guide.

Berry Brow Liberal Club, the Farmers Arms and the Rose and Crown at Holmfirth all get a mention.

The Dusty Miller at Longwood, the Fieldhead at Quarmby, the Flyboat at Aspley, the Head of Steam and Station Tavern in St George's Square, Huddersfield, Marsh Liberal Club, the White Cross Inn at Bradley and the Rat and Ratchet on Chapel Hill, Huddersfield, are all included.

The Sair and the Royal Oak at Linthwaite are mentioned, as are the Riverhead Brewery Tap in Marsden, the Rising Sun at Scholes, Cleckheaton, and the Savile Arms in Thornhill.

Elsewhere, Camra recommends the Crown and the Richard Oastler in Brighouse, the Round Hill at Rastrick, the Druids Arms and Spring Rock at Greetland, the Barge and Barrel in Elland, the Woodman at Batley Carr and the Huntsman, the Leggers and the West Riding Licensed Refreshment Rooms - all in Dewsbury.